When you put your hand in a flowing stream,
you touch the last that has gone before and the
first of what is still to come.
Leonardo daVinci
On this clear-skied, January morning, I drove through the protective flood wall out to the bank of the Ohio River. It had been some time since I’d gone to visit my ancient friend, and I was eager to know again, the quiet wisdom it always spoke to my spirit.
Along the muddy bank, pieces of driftwood rested, like washed up bones, after traveling for days or weeks, in a dizzying ride atop the frigid current. Now, the waters ran slowly, their deep gray cobalt reflecting the cloudy blue of the winter sky. At the center of the river, tiny, wind blown waves sparkled and danced, while closer to the shore, thin sheets of fragile ice drifted, like shards of broken window pane. Around the ice, cold pools of perfectly calm water lay mirror-like, moving ever so slowly onward toward their southern destination.
I watched, in fascination, the river’s constant movement and change. Not for a moment did it remain in the same place. Always, it found a way around anything that would obstruct its onward flow. From one place it passed to the next, it was never the same river.
So, too, our life conditions, good or ill, are always changing. The awareness of this constant flow of circumstances can both help us appreciate the positive and joyful times, and give us the assurance that even the worst of times will not last forever.
What is good is passing. Appreciate it. What is not good is passing. Don’t fear it.
Peace to you, my friend.
Sandra
